Nature as Muse

“Nature is my springboard. From her I get my initial impetus. I have tried to relate the visible drama of mountains, trees, and bleached fields with the fantasy of wind blowing and changing colors and forms.” –Milton Avery

“Nature flies from the infinite, for the infinite is unending or imperfect, and Nature ever seeks amend.” –Aristotle

I often reflect, if Nature had a voice, what would she say? She has kept me wild for as along as I can remember. Riding bikes, hunting lizards, making mud pies, climbing and jumping off her long and sensual limbs… yes, if we keep her safe, she keeps us wild. For my work as an artist, Nature’s forms have long inspired me. The infinite organic shapes and lines, the ceaseless colors and patterns, the way the light hits a leaf in a hundred different ways… to me Nature is the ultimate muse. It’s what I strive for my participants to serve as a reference point for making art that feels true, to take it back to our roots, to let the pulse of the Creator move through our hearts and hands, to reflect and honor the unfathomable beauty we find everywhere when we are in the wild.  And from there, we can begin to leave our own personal mark, our sacred expression, that is only unique onto ourselves. From there, we make it human, we make it solitary, we make to who we are and what we are feeling in that moment. Painting can serve as a metaphor for life in so many ways — it has many lessons to teach us (the art of letting go, trusting, playing, and accepting). Then to spend time in Nature, while painting with other kindred beings, well that is another gift upon a gift. With all that being shared, I hope you join me in one of the three retreats I am offering this year. This year I decided to scale back again on my traveling, to spend more time at home with my partner, and to offer my own kind of art experiences or soul vacations which would personally bring me a lot of contentment. So I created two special retreats in my beloved hometown of Asheville, NC (nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains) in both Fall and Spring (Spring is now sold out), and one at the world-renowned Hollyhock on Cortes Island near Vancouver, BC. Space is limited in each so be sure to register soon if you feel the call.

To art and love and possibility….

xo ~ ah